january 2013

Myanmar had recently opened it's doors wider to foreigners, so we jumped at the chance to see an unfamiliar Asian country. Interestingly enough, Yangon didn't seem as closed off from the world as one might expect. Like their neighbor countries, Yangon was also plagued by giant billboard ads and constant cell phone chatter. Nonetheless, Yangon has Shwedagon Pagoda, a gilded buddhist complex that stays open into the night. And once outside the city, the countryside seemed pretty remote. One of the main draws for me to Myanmar was the city of Bagan. Located in the Mandalay region, it's an expanse of plains dotted with countless temples. Even though there is usually not much inside these structures, most have complex architecture. The effect is impressive. We stayed a few days in Bagan, using horse-drawn buggies and bicycles to get around. We definitely felt like explorers in a vast wilderness of pagodas.